Abstract
The presence of heteroatom and aromatic compounds in liquids obtained from coal liquefaction processes requires expensive hydrogenation treatment to derive an acceptable liquid fuel. This project will develop a simple biological process for removing N, O and S and reducing the aromaticity of coal liquids. Microorganisms, employing biocatalysts, are known to degrade aromatic heteroatom compounds in nature to NH{sub 3}, SO{sub 4}{sup =} and CO{sub 2}. Preliminary experiments in the ERI laboratories to determine the feasibility of biological removal of N, O and S from coal and shale oil liquids have shown up to 20 percent nitrogen removal, 40 percent sulfur removal and 100 percent oxygen removal in a simple one stage incubation. A biological process for upgrading of coal liquids would offer significant advantages, such as operation at ordinary temperature and pressure with better energy efficiency. Of greater importance is the fact that microorganisms do not require an external supply of hydrogen for heteroatom removal, obtaining the required hydrogen from water. Furthermore, the biocatalysts are continuously regenerated by growth on the heteroatom compounds. Ring structures are degraded as the heteroatoms are removed. The heteroatoms are in an innocuous form, such as NH{sub 3}, S0{sub 4}{sup =}, C0{sub 2} and H{sub 2}0. Therefore, there is significant potential for the development of an economical biological process for upgrading coal liquids. This project will screen known bacteria and develop isolates for N, O and S removal and aromaticity reduction. The performance of the best of these cultures will be optimized for complete heteroatom removal in a single step. Continuous reactor experiments will be conducted with the optimal cultures to determine reaction kinetics and reactor design. The design and economics of this process, including product recovery, will be projected to define economic feasibility and high cost areas.
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